Thursday started at the crack of dawn, with a chilly top-down drive to the Maalaea Harbor, about 30 minutes south of Lahaina. Maalaea Harbor is known for being the windiest harbor in Hawaii, but on this day, it was still and serene. In fact, the boat crew couldn’t stop commenting on the absolutely perfect weather that we had on this day.
Once at the harbor, we found our boat, The Four Winds II, and were Molokini-bound. Molokini is a half-submerged crater in the channel off Maui, and is a federally-protected bird sanctuary for the frigate bird. It’s also the home of some of the best snorkeling on the island, with crystal clear blue water like I’ve never seen before.
Once on board, we confirmed our reservation for snuba. Snuba is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving, where you breathe through a regulator attached to a hose, which is attached to an air tank that floats on a raft above the water. This enables you to go 20 feet down, but avoids having to carry your own air tank. We also rented an underwater digital camera, and were able to get some great shots of the reef, and of ourselves underwater.
Geared up in flippers, snorkel mask, and weight belts, we got into the water and swam a few feet away from the boat. Knowing that I needed to get through the inevitable breathing under water panic, I put my face into the water, and breathed through the regulator. A minute later, my brain came around, and accepted that today, we’d be breathing under water. Once the entire group was in the water, we started on our journey under water. As I was struggling with actually diving under the water, the instructor added some weight to my weight belt, and lo and behold, I started to sink.
The hardest part of snuba is learning how to clear your ears. Every 2-3 feet you descend, you have to clear your ears by pinching your nose and gently blowing. We did finally get a hang of it, and enjoyed a wonderful half hour swimming with the fishes.
After our snuba tour was done, we outfitted ourselves in standard snorkel equipment, and swam around on top of the water, exploring the rest of the reef.
The tour included a continental breakfast, and an all you can eat lunch, which, after all of the swimming, we were both very grateful for.
Before the boat picked up anchor and left, I jumped off the side for one last swim in the pristine waters.
On the way back, we stopped in the so-called “Turtle Universe,” with the hopes of seeing a sea turtle or two. I was able to get one decent shot of a sea turtle swimming near the boat.
That night, we hit the Lahaina tourist landmark, Cheeseburger in Paradise. After some questionable service from the hostess, we were seated upstairs, and enjoyed tropical drinks, excellent burgers, and a beautiful sunset. A great end to a perfect day. 
Once at the harbor, we found our boat, The Four Winds II, and were Molokini-bound. Molokini is a half-submerged crater in the channel off Maui, and is a federally-protected bird sanctuary for the frigate bird. It’s also the home of some of the best snorkeling on the island, with crystal clear blue water like I’ve never seen before.
Once on board, we confirmed our reservation for snuba. Snuba is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving, where you breathe through a regulator attached to a hose, which is attached to an air tank that floats on a raft above the water. This enables you to go 20 feet down, but avoids having to carry your own air tank. We also rented an underwater digital camera, and were able to get some great shots of the reef, and of ourselves underwater.Geared up in flippers, snorkel mask, and weight belts, we got into the water and swam a few feet away from the boat. Knowing that I needed to get through the inevitable breathing under water panic, I put my face into the water, and breathed through the regulator. A minute later, my brain came around, and accepted that today, we’d be breathing under water. Once the entire group was in the water, we started on our journey under water. As I was struggling with actually diving under the water, the instructor added some weight to my weight belt, and lo and behold, I started to sink.The hardest part of snuba is learning how to clear your ears. Every 2-3 feet you descend, you have to clear your ears by pinching your nose and gently blowing. We did finally get a hang of it, and enjoyed a wonderful half hour swimming with the fishes.
After our snuba tour was done, we outfitted ourselves in standard snorkel equipment, and swam around on top of the water, exploring the rest of the reef.
The tour included a continental breakfast, and an all you can eat lunch, which, after all of the swimming, we were both very grateful for. Before the boat picked up anchor and left, I jumped off the side for one last swim in the pristine waters.On the way back, we stopped in the so-called “Turtle Universe,” with the hopes of seeing a sea turtle or two. I was able to get one decent shot of a sea turtle swimming near the boat.That night, we hit the Lahaina tourist landmark, Cheeseburger in Paradise. After some questionable service from the hostess, we were seated upstairs, and enjoyed tropical drinks, excellent burgers, and a beautiful sunset. A great end to a perfect day. 
Love the snorkling picts... and the cheesy hand holding over the table :-)
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